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The Lantern Festival (Tet Nguyen Tieu) symbolizes family reunion and is an occasion for the whole family to gather together to eat, chat, and admire the moon. In many regions, the Lantern Festival is considered a late New Year celebration, so people still busily make banh chung (traditional Vietnamese rice cakes), admire peach blossoms, and prepare elaborate feasts. In particular, the offerings to ancestors not only express gratitude but also pray for peace, blessings, and good fortune in the new year.
The offerings presented to ancestors not only express gratitude but also serve to pray for peace, well-being, and good fortune in the new year.
A refined and pure vegetarian feast.
Depending on their habits and needs, each family chooses to offer meat or vegetarian food as part of their offerings. Nowadays, many families believe that the Lantern Festival, marking the beginning of the new year, is a day to avoid killing animals, so they eat vegetarian food to pray for good fortune and ward off bad luck for the whole year. Furthermore, the trend of vegetarianism and offering vegetarian food has become a flourishing cultural tradition in recent years, especially during important holidays like the Full Moon Festival in the first lunar month.
Offering vegetarian meals on the full moon of the first lunar month is not only an opportunity to enjoy light and healthy dishes and a time for self-reflection, but also a lifestyle perhaps unmatched by any other culinary culture. Most vegetarian dishes are prepared from simple, unpretentious ingredients that are incredibly wholesome.
Depending on their own habits and needs, each family chooses to offer meat or vegetarian dishes as part of their offerings.
As we can see, Mother Nature has generously bestowed upon humanity countless delicious and exotic gifts from the natural world. Each region possesses a variety of seasonal fruits and vegetables that are readily available and easy to find. Then, through skillful and refined hands, a lavish vegetarian feast is prepared, offering a delicious and flavorful meal that rivals even non-vegetarian dishes.
Many families believe that the Lantern Festival, marking the beginning of the new year, is a day to avoid killing animals, so they observe a vegetarian diet to pray for good fortune and ward off bad luck for the entire year.
Offering vegetarian food has become a flourishing cultural tradition in recent years, especially during important holidays like the Full Moon Festival in the first lunar month.
A vegetarian feast on the full moon day of the first lunar month is not only elaborate in its preparation and harmonious in its flavors, but also refined in its presentation. The feast seems to embody the colors symbolizing the five elements: lotus seeds and white lotus root (metal element), green vegetables (wood element), black shiitake mushrooms (water element), red carrots (fire element), and yellow tofu skin (earth element).
Vegetarianism is a way to strive for purity, and thus, vegetarian meals are like an art form aimed at achieving balance, so that they are both visually appealing and delicious, while still exuding a light and refined elegance.
A vegetarian feast on the full moon day of the first lunar month is not only elaborate in its preparation and harmonious in its flavors, but also refined in its presentation.
Unique modern vegetarian feast in the 4.0 era.
As the Lunar New Year approaches, the term "online vegetarian feast" is being searched extensively on Google, yielding countless results. Responding to the needs of busy families, numerous restaurants and food stalls offering online vegetarian feast ordering services have emerged, ensuring delicious and diverse flavors while being quick, convenient, and time-saving.
Speaking with Travellive, Ms. Do Quyen, owner of the Happy Vegetarian restaurant chain, said: “The online vegetarian catering market has become very popular in the last two or three years. However, this year, 2024, the economy is a bit difficult, so it's not as busy as last year.”
According to Ms. Do Quyen, vegetarian feasts, including 5, 7, 9, or 12 dishes, range in price from 500,000 to 1,500,000 VND per set. It is known that vegetarian feasts priced between 500,000 and 700,000 VND are popular choices among families. This is because these sets are reasonably priced and suitable for small families of 4-6 people, with approximately 7 to 9 dishes.
As the full moon of the first lunar month approaches, "online vegetarian meal menu" is a frequently searched keyword on Google, yielding countless results.
Each feast still includes traditional dishes for the Lunar New Year but is adapted with vegetarian options such as sticky rice, banh chung (traditional Vietnamese rice cake), soup, stir-fried dishes, braised dishes, fried dishes, salads, fried spring rolls, vegetarian sausage, etc. Notably, the vegetarian feast sets are also given meaningful names suitable for the atmosphere of family reunion, such as "Family Love," "Gathering Together," "Peace and Joy," "As You Wish," and "Origins"...
To create a vegetarian feast menu, the shop spends a month brainstorming and creating prototypes. The challenge then is to ensure that the food is always fresh, of high quality, beautifully presented, and delivered on time throughout the preparation and cooking process. Customers wishing to prepare for the Lunar New Year feast can simply place their orders via Facebook, Zalo, or phone 1-2 hours in advance to receive a complete vegetarian feast with fresh flavors and eye-catching colors.
The emergence of online vegetarian catering services ensures a wide variety of delicious flavors while being quick, convenient, and time-saving.
Decoding the origins of the Lantern Festival
The Lantern Festival, also known as the Full Moon Festival, originates from China and takes place on the 14th and 15th days of the first lunar month. Many sources suggest that the Lantern Festival originated during the Western Han Dynasty (China).
The story tells of palace maids who, every spring, felt homesick but were unable to leave the palace to visit their families. At this time, Dongfang Shuo, a favorite minister of Emperor Han Wudi, was moved by the maids' feelings and offered his help. He spread the rumor that Chang'an would be consumed by the Fire God, and that the emperor and the royal family should take refuge outside the palace. Meanwhile, the palace would be filled with lanterns depicting a fire to deceive the Fire God. Emperor Han Wudi approved this plan.
The Lantern Festival, also known as the Full Moon Festival, originates from China and takes place on the 14th or 15th day of the first lunar month.
From then on, every year on the 15th day of the first lunar month, every household hangs lanterns. This custom has been widely passed down through many generations and spread to Vietnam. However, in our country, the Lantern Festival also has some variations that differ from those in China.
